I have a new job where I have to drive about 45 minutes each way to the office, plus I'm on the road a bit. Especially now during the off season, when there aren't as many football podcasts to enjoy, I've been getting into audiobooks.
First up I listened to A Tale of Two Cities, and I'm now on to Nicholas Nickleby. I really like Dickens. A lot of his social commentary still applies today. For example - the awful DoTheBoys Hall, where the boys are starved and beaten, isn't that different to a lot of places we are hearing about now in Australia regarding Barnados, the Salvos and other homes for boys from the 60s up to the 90s. Despite the misery Dickens also uses a lot of humour, which is amplified when hearing it read aloud. It was how most people back in the day were exposed to Dickens too. his books were serialised, so people read each chapter out loud to their families every day or week as they appeared. The Game of Thrones of its day.
I also find it soothing listening to an audiobook. The only trouble is that Nicholas Nickleby goes for 34 hours. Good value for my $24 though.
I'm also reading The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith, the second book in the Cormoran Strike series. Galbraith is really J.K. Rowling and the firs two books have been very enjoyable. A million miles from Potter, which is why she chose to write under a pseudonym. The main character, Strike, is also an Arsenal fan, which I may have mentioned on here previously, and the club gets several mentions. Losing to Spurs was not one that I wanted to be reminded of though.
